Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood

8 reviews

shadowsandspells's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

While *All the Ugly and Wonderful Things* tackles some heavy and thought-provoking themes, I found the pacing a bit sluggish, and at times, the narrative felt long-winded. The story of Wavy and Kellen is undoubtedly unconventional, and Greenwood delves into difficult moral gray areas with a raw, unfiltered lens. However, the book dragged in places, making it feel more like a slow burn that never fully ignited.

Wavy’s perspective, while unique and emotionally stirring, didn’t always hold my attention. The multiple points of view often made the story feel disjointed, which contributed to the overall sense of it being drawn out. While the character development is strong, the plot progression felt bogged down by the excessive detail, which made some sections feel more tedious than captivating.

That said, Greenwood's writing is beautiful in places, and the novel does touch on important topics like trauma, family dysfunction, and unconventional love. It's just that for me, the pacing made it hard to stay fully invested throughout. If you enjoy slow, introspective reads, you might connect with this more than I did.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual violence, and Abandonment

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Death of parent

Minor: Death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

rowan27's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

It's so hard to write a review of this book, but I felt it necessary. This book doesn't feel good to read. It's hard. It's heavy. One of the heaviest and most difficult books I've ever read. It's a lot. It took me a long time to get through. 

 If anything, I'd say this book is about humanity and the effects of trauma and abuse through generations. It's about how morals can change and become blurred in different circumstances. About the difference in ethics and morality depending on those circumstances. 
And it's about what can happen if people just turn a blind eye and don't intervene when they should and what can happen if they intervene too late or not at all.

This book was so well written. It felt real. It made my heart ache, and there were so many points I wanted to stop reading, but I needed some sort of conclusion. I'm glad I finished it, but even at the conclusion, it left me feeling hollow and empty.

I felt the author dealt with extremely heavy subject matter in a very real way, from the viewpoints of multiple parties involved. Even though the author didn't stray away from any of the subjects involved, I could tell that they were careful about how they told the story. It didn't stray from crossing those hard lines, but made it clear how difficult those lines were to cross. It felt like reading a true story, one that I'm sure, unfortunately, several people could relate to. One that ended in a real way, with unresolved issues entangling the lives of the characters. Complicated and messy.

Some can argue that it romanticizes horrible circumstances. That it glorifies the relationship of these characters. I can see that argument. But beneath it all and more than that, to me, it felt more like a retelling of someone's life. The things that make people messy and human. It's complicated, and I think that's the point.

I can't recommend this book to anyone because of what it deals with. There is no way I would insist anyone should read it. But I can say that it is very good.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Death of parent

Minor: Suicide and Vomit

blumerlamotte's review

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Suicide, Violence, Murder, and Pregnancy

roundtoread's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Omg WHAT did I just read!! Loved this book to the first 19 pages where the grandma said 

“I don’t mean to be cruel, but they were drooling vegetables.”
And to were the author includes the title in the book !!!

Wavy from the start was this little trama forced girl that didn’t deserve what she got but DAMN this book is a eye opener on the back of the book it says “Love knows no boundaries” and taht is very true in this book - love taht shouldn’t be 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Rape, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

kelseygrachek's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Death, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Alcohol

Minor: Gun violence, Grief, and Car accident

bekkz27's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

I am so torn by this book. Is it sweet? Yes. Is it also creepy? Yes. Am I conflicted about if the main characters should have ended up together? Hell yes. 

Wavy lives an extremely sad life. One of the guys who works for her dad, well stepdad, takes a liking to her. He helps her to grow and stay safe from her drug addicted parents. Then wavy has a cute little girl crush on him, Kellen. 

*****Spoilers below*****

However, Kellen falls for Wavy as well. She is 8! This is why it gets weird. The first time they do stuff, she is 13. That being said, I have every fiber of my being screaming that it is pedophilia. However, they do seem to genuinely love one another. I wanted them both to be together and not. I am concerned and yet also happy about the ending.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Sexual content

Moderate: Child abuse, Suicide, and Murder

kiwialexa's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, and Alcohol

amy959's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail